Despite national polls that show Donald Trump with a consistent and commanding lead in the New Hampshire primary, Rep. Frank Guinta, who represents New Hampshire’s first congressional district, says the presidential race unfolding in his backyard is still “wide open.”
“I think there’s lots of room for movement for a whole host of candidates and not in any particular order, Carly Fiorina, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. I mean, he’s been dominating in the polls for a period of time, much longer than anybody ever expected or anticipated,” Guinta said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “So I see this as a real wide-open race.”
But the prospects for Jeb Bush in the Granite State have dimmed in recent weeks with the rise of outsider candidates like Fiorina and Trump — prompting alarm bells for some of his supporters who once saw New Hampshire as a crucial state to win.
Guinta said the former Florida governor might be in need of a campaign “reset.”
“Jeb Bush, who I think came in with a very high expectation, has probably a bit of a reset, and I think they’ll do that. And I absolutely put him in the mix because of his experience, and the attractiveness of the things that he was able to accomplish in the state of Florida,” Guinta said.
The two-term congressman said New Hampshire’s status as the first state to hold presidential primary elections has elevated its internal politics to the national level.
For example, the state’s struggles with high levels of heroin addiction have forced candidates from both parties to address the issue.
Hillary Clinton, Trump, Bush and Kasich are among the presidential hopefuls who have brought up New Hampshire’s heroin problem on the campaign trail.
“I appreciate that presidential candidates are in tune with what’s going on in New Hampshire to the point where they’re actively talking about the issues,” said Guinta, who has introduced legislation to combat the addiction epidemic. “It shows that they care about the people and their families.”
Guinta defended his state’s position in the primary line-up, which has occasionally come under fire from critics who argue the status gives New Hampshire outsize influence on the process.
“We are going to continue to fight for and maintain our first-in-the-nation primary status,” he said. “From time to time there’s discussions about whether that will change or not and I would politely remind everyone that it’s in our state law that we go first, and we’ll continue to honor that tradition.”
On the Democratic side, Vermont’s socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders has overtaken Clinton in New Hampshire polls, surprising observers who expected Sanders to pose little threat to the former secretary of state.
“I don’t know if that will change by the time we have the primary,” Guinta said of Sanders’ lead, “but it’s a fascinating race to watch because I think they both represent two very, very different approaches and wings of the party, and there’s a lot of a dissention in the Democratic Party right now as a result of that.”
Guinta said he has not yet decided whether he will endorse any of the Republican primary candidates and noted he is still “kicking the tires” of each campaign.
